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The future of publishing...has now become the prediction from the past. A comment from Authors' Crossroad Think Tank
"Writers need to come to grips with the electronic medium. My downloads out sell my hard copies at least 4 to 1. The old notion of having a hard copy in your hands will die along with us. Barnes & Noble is already facing that fact and seeing what is happening to record stores. Download is the future, like it or not. Hard copies will be ad displays at best. Ingram is already gearing up to have in-store POD of current books to cut down on store space. The typical retail outlet costs at least $25 per sq. ft. in rent alone. That's a lot of books just to pay the rent. Those who can market successfully with download will make the money. Shipping alone is prohibitive for a small press. On my Winning Thinking, I make about 10 cents on a hard copy, if that. With a 55% markup and shipping there is no profit in hardcopy. Download I can make $5 each without the hassle or expense. We'll be selling books like Burger King, making them to order in the store if Ingram has their way. It actually makes total sense for those who insist on a hard copy. I can easily provide a PDF file for a store to use to print a perfect bound on the spot. With technology coming around we should be seeing a standardized format like the rack paperback that can be cranked out as needed or you plug your IPOD into a slot and download your book like at an ATM machine or just do it on line."
The above comment is contributed by author, Michael Cortson. The Authors' Crossroad is a think tank which serves as an advertising tool for authors web sites and books. Any feedback on this comment may go to: http://www.michaelcortson.com/. You may also respond by adding your comment to this blog or by responding directly to the author of this blog at lauriefoston@aol.com.
